Wednesday, 2 August 2017

Cybersecurity On The Web

You won’t run out of things to do on the World Wide Web. Whatever your interests are, you are sure to find something that will pique your interest; as if social media is not a good enough reason to force you to go online on a daily basis. You have shared several personal details on all your social networks because you need to disclose them when you create your account. However, hackers can steal your data once they gain access to the system and give you lots of headaches in the future.

Cybersecurity is no laughing issue. You’d be surprised at how sophisticated modern hackers and cyber criminals have become and you don’t stand a chance once they get into your system, corrupt your files, and steal valuable data – even your own identity. Cyber attacks often make it to the headline because such attacks are becoming far too prevalent these days.

It’s now clear that cyber attacks are a fact of life for corporations and governments. What’s less clear are the winners and losers among companies focused on stopping the digital break-ins.

News about the WannaCry digital extortion attack that crippled hundreds of thousands computers worldwide caused predictable stock market euphoria on Monday. As tends to happen when there is a highly public cyber attack, share prices of cyber security technology specialists such as Palo Alto Networks, Proofpoint and Fortinet climbed.

Many prominent digital attacks—such as those on Target, J.P. Morgan Chase and Sony’s movie studio—lift hopes of ringing cash registers at tech companies that make money from companies’ fear they’ll be the next victim. But even as computer attacks become more prevalent and damaging, they haven’t been a universal triumph for the cyber security industry.

(Via: http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/wGjEqObT3XIjx9OIEZe12O/Cyber-attacks-are-certain-cyber-security-business-is-not.html)

While individuals are also at risk of cyber attacks, it is the businesses, corporations and government agencies that are often the target of these cyber criminals because they get to extract countless valuable data using just one target.

The WannaCry malware that spread to more than 100 countries in a few hours is throwing up several surprises for cybersecurity researchers, including how it gained its initial foothold, how it spread so fast and why the hackers are not making much money from it.

Some researchers have found evidence they say could linkNorth Korea with the attack, but others are more cautious, saying that the first step is shedding light on even the most basic questions about the malware itself.

For one thing, said IBM Security's Caleb Barlow, researchers are still unsure exactly how the malware spread in the first place. Most cybersecurity companies have blamed phishing e-mails - e-mails containing malicious attachments or links to files - that download the ransomware.

That's how most ransomware finds its way onto victims' computers.

The problem in the WannaCry case is that despite digging through the company's database of more than 1 billion e-mails dating back to March 1, Barlow's team could find none linked to the attack.

"Once one victim inside a network is infected it propagates," Boston-based Barlow said in a phone interview, describing a vulnerability in Microsoft Windows that allows the worm to move from one computer to another.

(Via: http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=47845:oddities-in-wannacry-ransomware-puzzle-cybersecurity-researchers&catid=113:international-news&Itemid=248)

A single malware can do a lot of damage and you don’t want to put your device or your files at risk. Some may appear as inconspicuous emails and determining how others infect systems remains to be a mystery.

Making sure your computer has a reliable antivirus is one key precaution you can take to ensure no virus can ever make its way to your computer or laptop. Securing your device is a must considering how often you use it now to access the web and many companies have become victims of cyber attacks for a while now, temporarily putting a halt to their operations and crippling their system. You don’t want to be a part of the statistics, so just remain vigilant whenever using the web to protect yourself as well as your data from these faceless thieves.

Cybersecurity On The Web Read more on: Degrafa.com



source https://www.degrafa.com/cybersecurity-on-the-web/